NAIROBI--A Kenya-based animal protection group said wild elephants could disappear within the next generation unless the Chinese government takes immediate steps to crack down on the illegal ivory trade.

Japan on Nov. 18 unveiled plans to resume whale hunting in the Southern Ocean despite an international court ruling that previous hunts were illegal, but said it would slash the quota for the so-called scientific whaling program.

TSU, Mie Prefecture--Scientists at Mie University here have developed a biofuel from unmarketable oranges and waste left over after making orange juice that may put the squeeze on existing bioethanol as a more efficient and less-corrosive fuel blend.

TESHIKAGA, Hokkaido--Lake Mashuko had long been a source of pride in this industrialized nation as the clearest and cleanest lake in the world. But the effects of global warming and an alien species have clouded that distinction, researchers said.